Webinar: Climate Risk Reduction at the National and Sub-National Scale

Monday, October 26, 2015 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Webinar

In the second webinar of the "Global Climate Security Initiative" series, this panel of experts will focus on localities or "hot spots" where there exists a convergence of climate vulnerability, state fragility, and strategic significance. And, it is an incredible panel.

Moderator: Chris Boone. Dean of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University

United States: Alice Hill is the U.S. National Security Council's co-lead official responsible for the climate resilience of the U.S. homeland. She will speak to the critical threats facing U.S. critical infrastructure and resources - including coastal vulnerabilities, strains on emergency services presented by increasing wildfires, and the security implications of water stress in the West - and will provide concrete options for a path forward

Middle East and North Africa: Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell are Co-Directors of the Center for Climate and Security, and the first researchers to surface the Syria-climate-drought-instability nexus, a study which has since been widely covered in the mainstream media. They will speak to the effects of climate change on water and food insecurity in the Middle East and North Africa, and offer policy solutions for the region's governments and the international community.

Central and South Asia: Janani Vivekananda of International Alert will describe the climate and security nexus in a region of growing populations and political instability, while offering nuanced "climate adaptive" solutions that will help ameliorate, rather than potentially exacerbate, existing conflicts in the region.

Arctic: CDR David Slayton, USN (ret), of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, will discuss the changing landscape of the Arctic, and what those changes mean for geopolitical dynamics in the High North. He will illuminate a path forward for preventing future tension and conflict in a changing Arctic

Sub-national governments are on the front line of climate risk mitigation, and so political leaders, businesses, and civil society actors operating at this scale must identify ways to inform policy and technology solutions that will increase resilience, security, and economic vitality.

This second webinar in the Global Security Initiative series, co-hosted by the Global Security Initiative of Arizona State University, will focus on regions and nations that are vulnerable to climatic shifts that could lead to security consequences of strategic significance. Panelists will focus on identifying specific actions to head off potential conflicts or address threats from climate change